New Delhi, Apr 5(IANS): A majority of Indians - 57 percent -prefer to use the internet for banking and other financial holdings than shopping online, according to a survey released Wednesday.

According to the survey by online survey company Ipsos, checking out online for information on products and services comes second at 53 percent. Half (50 percent) shop for products online and more than four in ten (42 percent) have surfed to look for jobs in the last three months.

"Online banking has made things much easier for the people and it saves a lot of time. It has eliminated the hassle of the traditional way of banking where one had to stand in the queue and fill up several forms," said Biswarup Banerjee, head of marketing communication, Ipsos in India.

Most of the banks in India have introduced customer friendly online banking facility with advance security features to protect customers against cybercrime.

"The easy registration process for net banking has improved customers' access to several banking products, increased customer loyalty, facilitated money transfer to any banks across India and has helped banks to attract new customers," he added.

Banking and keeping track of finances, shopping and searching for jobs are the main tasks of internet users around the globe. Nearly 60 percent of people in 24 countries used the web to check their bank account and other financial assets in the past 90 days, making it the most popular use of the internet.

Globally shopping was not too far behind at 48 percent, the Ipsos poll showed, and 41 percent went online in search of a job.

Ipsos interviewed a total of 19,216 adults from 24 countries between Feb 7 and 21.